European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 22, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May 2007 stars and stripes Mideast edition Page 15 Freedom Rock a painted Iowa treasure Charlie Ray Bubba Sorensen works on a mural on a 56ton Boulder that he paints each year near for nine he has painted on the dubbed Freedom by Nafeesa Syeed the associated press Iowa Ray Bubba Sorensen wanted to quit years but there he was turning up again and again at a 56ton Boul Der to paint murals of the sacrifices of americas for nine he has painted on the dubbed Freedom it has made him a celebrity in this Swath of Central Iowa farm country and has become a memorial Day tradition that draws thousands of in thanking these Guys who signed up to do a Job no one else wants to said the 27yearold graphic artist from whose idea began with a spurt of patriotism after watching the movie saving private before Sorensen began paint ing murals each the Boulder about 40 Miles West of Des Moines on an empty stretch of Highway 25 was covered with but Only once has the Rock been defaced since he began painting scenes of whether there crossing the Delaware with George Washington or flying in a helicopter Over Viet a 58yearold Vietnam Veteran became so angry at the one bit of Graffiti that he beat up the Young earning himself a citation and a Fine that other vets helped him i got very John Porter the Rock is a pretty sacred thing to our it takes Sorensen about three weeks to sketch out and paint scenes on the using flood he sometimes works past on a recent May so Rensen Knelt on his sweat shirt Hood pulled Over his head against a gusting he methodically painted an image on the Rock of marines carrying a Sorensen tipped his Brush to passing but he rarely took his eyes off the every 54yearold Mari Lee Kajewski of Northeast Iowa stops to see the i think it is an amazing tribute to the armed said Sajews whose father fought in world War it kind of brings Home the the sacrifice that Treyve made to keep the United states local business people encourage visits to the arranging tour bus trips and erecting a Wel come Kiosk with a plastic mail bin that reads leave a note for Ive got notebooks full of peo ple leaving messages from All Over the he we got like we got the Virgin is lands and get your kicks while you still can on route 66 old hotels along the historic route Are falling by Justin Juozapaviciu the associated press the Riviera courts Motel is crumbling away and nobody seems to once a Stop along route the Neon carnival that connected hundreds of communities from Chicago to los this late1930s Mission re Vival is just a weath Verworn building on the Side of a country Road in far Northeast next soybean Farmers Richard and Rosemary Woolard watch the place deteriorate from their front been a lot of changes in this old 77yearold Richard Woolard the Riviera courts is among hundreds of Moman pop motels that met their demise along the ribbon of route 66 As americas interstate system siphoned traffic off the Mother Road onto a divided Highway called in with More route 66 Miles than any of the eight states it flows Many motels Are derelict or aban used As junk makeshift car lots and owners who inherited these historical footnotes have no use for them and would rather sell the properties to a Developer if the Price was Many structures that made the Road what it was the Fame a owned service Barbecue joints have fallen with efforts to fix up these architectural landmarks time has become the roads worst the nonprofit National historic route 66 federation in Lake there Hast been a vacancy for a very Long time at the Riviera courts Motel in route immortalized in John Stein Becks 1939 novel the grapes of Wrath and crooner Nat King Coles Catchy debuted in instantly becoming a slice of the Road meant steady work for scores of unemployed men who built it in the 1930s an Avenue for thousands of okies who migrated West to escape the dust bowl and a pos world War ii playground for Mil Lions of americans looking to roam in the 1950s and with the interstate came the Holiday Chain Gas stations and popping up Neon and Quirky were on the prefab and fast were the business Model for the motels became How was a place built in the 1920s to accommodate 11 to 20 patrons to com Pete with a Bigboy Motel that could cram 10 times More customers in by the interstate had bypassed the last bit of 66 in ending americas Romance with the iconic travelling West from the Riviera the Chelsea Motel about 45 Miles Down the Road seems in worse a couple of beat up cars Are parked on the grass in front of the woo Frame Struc dandelions and shards of Glass car pet the in room there is noise from a to or radio and a couple bottles of shampoo on the window but no body answers the John Hall pops out from be Hind the he is Gray haired and and could pass fora tattooed department store Santa the 62yearold owns the Motel with his build an Indian Tobac co the Motel was built around 1935 to Cater to the traffic moving by the it was headed holding on to a piece of history int in the Halls even though its in their re storing it would Cost tens of thou Sands of i Hope we sell the whole place and move into the he some folks Are slowly reclaiming the few Miles of route 66 his tory that run through their City in residents Are taking advantage of a facade improvement pro Gram that helps route 66 building owners restore their Neon in estimates at least motels along the a pack rat who uses most of its rooms route Are in various states of repair or Dis As storage and wants to sell the place to photos by Mel p the Chelsea Motel in is a woo Frame Motel that was built around 1935 to take advantage of the traffic heading by the the place was going into his the City bought the historic de Anza motor Lodge Sev eral years ago and recently selected a Developer to restore the landmark As an up scale route 66 a few places Are getting by on Ameri Cas main elms Motel in Cla 30 Miles West of is a series of modest Yel Low and Brown cot with Ivy creep ing along the garages used to be attached to each cot but proprietors figured they could squeeze another room in and they were theres not that Many old places left in la ments owner Tommy who bought the place about 30 years there pretty much gone by the that called